The Darkness Within
by G01den W01f 11
Summary: Hyrule prepares for a grand celebration, but neither Link nor Nabooru can enjoy it. A shadow enroaches upon the land, and both must face demons from their pasts.
1. Chapter 1

_The beta readers for this fic are WhiteKitsuneKnight and Raynre Valence - Sage of Time. Their insights were invaluable._

_Cover art by LilleahWest. There is a link to her Deviant Art page on my profile._

* * *

**Chapter I**

The Desert Colossus had changed since Link first visited. The dusty hallways and grand, cavernous chambers that bespoke an eternal isolation now exuded the stench of death. The echoes of his footsteps that could once be heard clearly throughout the spacious chambers were now muffled by the corpses of monsters.

He had been gone for three days, or so he thought. Zelda had told him nearly an entire year had passed since he left Hyrule. Considering what he had done to Time, Link supposed he should not be surprised.

But not even a year was long enough to be gone from the Gerudo Desert. It had not been an hour, and already sand had found its way into every opening of his tunic. The chafing alone would not have been so horrible, but the sun was fiercer here than anywhere else in Hyrule, and his tunic had soon grown soaked through with his sweat. It was all he could do to maintain his stoic demeanor against the wet, coarse grains that ground against his body with every movement.

He stepped over mostly-decayed lizard creatures and the crumpled armor of Ganondorf's once-fearsome Iron Knuckles. The bodies lay in his path all the way up to the heart of the temple. What weapons they once had were long ago scavenged by the broken Hylian army.

Before he opened the final door, something caught his eyes. He knelt down among the corpses. There was one he could not recognize. Remnants of dark red skin stretched over thin rib-bones. They were too small to belong to a lizard species, too thin for moblins, and nothing he had fought had skin that leathery.

It lay atop the others, covered in dried blood. It had not been there near as long as the others.

Link shook his head. He was delaying the meeting. Steeling himself for the worst, he forced open the heavy stone door before him.

He entered the central chamber. It was larger than he remembered. A square pillar over, dominated the center of the room, supporting a large platform whose shadow left in squinting in the darkness.

"Nabooru?" he called. There was no answer. Donning his gloves, he began the long climb up the stone ledges that were hewn into the side of the platform. He feared something had happened to her, but he was also afraid that she was alive and waiting for him.

"So the little boy has come to play once more. I should have expected you." Her low, thickly-accented voice echoed through the musty air. He could not tell from where it came. He stopped climbing, hanging meters above the ground. She could very well be lying in wait to slay him at the top. Clinging to the ladder, he would have no means of defending himself.

"It has been a year, and the princess wishes a celebration," he yelled, projecting his voice as far as it would go. "Hyrule would see their savior. Do not deny this honor."

For a long moment, all he could hear was his breath, rasping out in deep gasps. Then, her head appeared over the ledge above. The orange gem that had once adorned her forehead was absent, leaving a diamond impression that was slightly paler than the rest of her face. Her long red hair, covered in dust and sand, fell in thin strands about her shoulders.

"The little boy seeks my aid again." She laughed a deep, throaty laugh that made Link cringe. "After the triumphant success of his last campaign, who am I to deny him? Perhaps he should come up here and face me as the Hero of Time instead of dangling like a monkey."

Link had no choice but to continue his climb. He could feel her eyes on him, wide and unblinking. A half-smile crept upon her face.

Finally he stood at the stop, looking at the Sage of Spirit. The year since the war had not been kind to her. Her scant clothing hung loose about her gaunt frame. Link shuddered at the sight of her clearly-visible ribs.

"You've changed," he said.

"And you are the exact same little boy as before," she replied. "One wonders how it is possible."

"Time has been unkind to us both, though she seems to take more of an interest in me."

"Of course she does." She exhaled bitterly through her nose and bent down so her face was at his level. "And should I take an interest in you as well, little boy?"

"You should take an interest in the land that you saved, or at least the temple that you guard. Its halls are filled with the same corpses from the war, rotting now, befouling your home with their vile stench. You have grown frail. Could you defend the temple from a new enemy? Could you even defend it from a keese?"

It was not Nabooru who stood before him. The survivor of the Gerudo was a strong woman, and proud. More vicious than a desert storm and beautiful as the red dawn. Who was this shell that now resided in the temple?

"Not keese. Bokoblins from the east," she hissed. Nabooru limped away from him, slightly favoring her left leg. "The curse gone, their scouts trickle in to die by my blade. But who can hold them back now that Ganondorf's power has failed? Who will stand up to their hordes?" She whirled and glared at him. "A storm is coming, little boy, and no power in this world will hold it back," she snarled.

"I will hold it," Link promised, "and all who stand with me. You have not yet seen my full strength, Nabooru, and I pray you never have to."

She laughed again, until she fell wheezing to her knees, hands clasped around her belly.

"You could not even save the Zora," she said. The accusation stung, but he did not let it show.

"I have learned much in the year I was gone, and not least of all the value of friendship."

"There are no friends out there, nor anything else for me."

Link slapped her. The once-proud warrior fell to the ground, staring up at him with fearful eyes.

"If you believed that, you would have hidden yourself away and let me pass by. If you believed that, you would not have bothered to save our land."

Withered hands grabbed at his tunic, yanking him down on top of the sage.

"You left me to rot," she screamed at him. "After all I did for you, you left me to die. What were you doing, prancing about your forest? Making love to your princess? And now you come back only for a stupid festival."

She rotated her hips, and before Link knew it he was on his back, Nabooru straddling him. He tried to restrain her, but her ferocity overpowered him, and she beat and clawed at his face.

"You don't care. You never cared about the Gerudo. Did they deserve to die for their king's sins? Did I deserve to live? I hate you."

Her words hurt far more than her hands. He had no defense for her accusation, no words to soothe her anger. All he could do was wind his hands around her neck and pull her too close to hit him. He held her until the violent strain of her back against his arms turned to the shudder of wracking sobs.

"I will not leave you again," he promised. "Hyrule is my home now. Let it be yours. Live."

"No. Not for you. Not for anyone." She pushed herself off him and stalked to the edge of the platform. "You may spend the night, but you will return to your princess in the morning, little boy."

"Is there no hope then?" Link asked.

"Not while he still lives," she hissed. Then she was gone.

Link, for his part, sat long in the chamber, thinking on what he had learned.

* * *

He couldn't sleep. The temple creaked with strange noises, and the cold stone was rough against his skin. He had come too close to death too many times in that place to ever feel comfortable. After stretching out the kinks in his back, he ascended to the roof. If he was lucky, there would be a calming night breeze.

He found Nabooru already sitting there, staring transfixed at the luminescent mirror.

"Such a small thing. Such a magical thing," she muttered. "One wonders if it is safe. One wonders if it has all been for naught."

"It is the safest place we know," Link said, reaching up to place a hand on her bare shoulder. "Only the Sacred Realm is more secure, but we dare not forever seal away the Master Sword."

"Only when he is dead will Hyrule be safe from my king," Nabooru promised. "Come, hero. Show us this strength we know not and slay him for good."

"I cannot," Link said. "I dare not. By some divine prank, he has Power once more, and we know not how to remove it."

He still remembered the scene as if it happened last week (and by a certain reckoning it had). A flash of unspeakable magic, and in an instant the full force of Courage had returned to him. By the time he had recovered from the shock, Ganondorf's chains were broken, and the Sage of Water lay dead at his feet.

"Then you merely leave him for another people of another time to deal with. Does that comfort you, hero, knowing that it is not you but your descendants whom he will slaughter?"

"Mine is not the gift of wisdom," he said slowly, "nor the gift of lore. I do what I can with what I have, and this I know for certain: though Ganondorf is my equal, I have not the strength to slay Ganon. The dark beast is a power greater than I can even comprehend."

"Then all is for naught." The Gerudo sank to her knees. Link knelt in front of her, forcing her to look at him.

"Zelda told me that when the first Hylians came to this land, those that remained behind scoffed at their efforts. The world was too big. We would get lost in its depths. We could not possibly survive away from our home.

"And yet, we taught ourselves to ride horses, making the world smaller. When cliffs stood in our way we learned to climb them. The land was overrun with hoardes of monsters, and yet we held them off. Though we had no architects, we learned to build, and soon the glorious castle of Hyrule stood over the river to hold off any invasion. We took the bomb flower and improved it. We invented potions of remarkable quality. We even grew so powerful as to subjugate the Gorons during the Great War.

"We have elaborate locks guarding the Master Sword, a temple of light floating in a place we know not, a portal to another world that we formed in defiance of all the laws of nature.

"We have grown strong indeed, and we will grow stronger still. If someone from the birth of Hyrule could see what magic we now posses, they would scarce believe it. How much more powerful will we then be a thousand years hence, nay even a hundred years?

"One day there will come a man with the strength to slay the beast. Until that day comes he will remain safely locked away in the land of eternal twilight.

"I swear on my blood as a Hylian, and on my blade, and by the goddesses, that your sacrifice was not in vain."

He turned, and they gazed at the mirror - reflecting the endless starry night - together. Somewhere beyond in space unknown lay the Twilight Realm. Would Ganon be writhing in pain, suffering for all he had killed? Link doubted it. They had not served justice on that day, one year ago. They had saved Hyrule for a time, nothing more. Other threats would arrive, and Link would stand ready to face them.

"It is beautiful," Nabooru whispered. "More vast than magic, more grand than the great temples."

"Then defend it with me," Link prompted. "Defend the beauty of the world from those who would seek to mar it. The Hero of Time is merely he who fights together with the sages. I need you, Nabooru."

She was silent. Atop the desert tower, time seemed to slow, leaving the two in a moment of perfect stillness, surrounded on all sides by the white sands and black sky.

"I will go with you to Hyrule," she said at length through clenched teeth. "I do not promise to stay." Link clasped her hand.

"That is all I ask."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

The Temple of Time was every bit as grand as the Desert Colossus (or the Spirit Temple as the Hylians liked to call it), but in a different way. The Colossus was an immense labyrinth, each room filled with the ornate carvings of the Gerudo. Treasure there was too, all the riches that they had looted from the Hylians and more. It was even said that Ganondorf himself stored an item of his own design within the cavernous rooms for some unknown purpose. But that was before the war.

The Temple of Time, in contrast, was simple. It was a good deal more ornate than the wood and thatch dwellings that littered the city outside the temple, but compared to the Colossus - and all the other temples Nabooru had seen - the giant windows of stained glass and the marble altar in the center of the temple's single chamber were positively modest.

It was as deserted as it was when she had first seen it. Not as deserted as the Spirit Temple, however. Hylians did not have to fight across a desert full of leevers and ghosts and sandstorms so fierce that nearly anyone would get lost in them. She wondered if those devout Hylians that were grovelling around her would still come to pray if entering their temple was as harrowing a trial as it was for the Gerudo. She doubted it. All she saw were ancient cripples, and the weak-spirited beings the Hylians called women - most great with child.

When she emerged into Castle Town beside Link, the bright morning sun assaulted her eyes. She squeezed them shut, allowing them to adjust. She had not seen proper daylight since she had sent her master into the Realm of Twilight.

The market in the center of town bustled with life. Such raucous sounds she had not heard in a year either. Merchants sang out their wares, some in high shrill tones and others with full voices that resounded through the entire square. Children ran giggling throughout the crowd, and everywhere people chattered and gossiped.

She fought to keep the cacophony of voices from distracting her. She was a Gerudo princess, the greatest living warrior, the survivor of her people. She should not be so easily distracted. But for a year she had stayed isolated. There was no reason to train, no reason to sharpen her mind against the decay that came with sloth. She struggled even to focus.

When they finally passed through the large oaken gates of the castle itself, Nabooru thought the worst would be over, but no sooner had they went down a hallway and entered what appeared to be a small dining chamber than all the Sages of Hyrule descended upon her.

Darunia was the first to reach her. The Goron swept her up in his thick rocky arms and clasped her tight against his chest.

"It's been far too long, brother," he roared.

She could not get any air to her lungs, but she forced herself to hug him back. To do any less would show weakness, and she would not do that before the Goron leader. He, at least, she could respect.

They each greeted her in turn: Impa with a firm handshake and understanding nod, Rauru with a grand bow and well wishes, and Zelda with a storm of words that meant nothing.

"Where is the little girl?" Naboru asked when she had room to talk. Nabooru had always liked her. She was an overtrusting fool, but she had none of the pretenses of grandeur that plagued the Hylians. It was refreshing, in a way, to know someone so innocent.

"Saria will come in her own time," Rauru assured her.

"The festival does not start for two days, brother," Darunia added. "Relax." Then his massive hand slapped against her shoulder, and she had to brace herself so she would not slam face-first onto the table.

Laughter filled the room, and the Goron made a stumbling apology. Nabooru shot a glare at Link. She had not had to deal with this in the Colossus.

The boy tried to help her up, but she ignored his attempt.

"Have you eaten?" Zelda asked, while Impa said "I am glad that you are with us for a time," and Darunia and Rauru began talking to each other about the festival.

She ignored them all and strode from the room. She heard the footsteps of Link trotting behind her; they were expected and not entirely unwelcome.

"What are you doing?"

"I am leaving before I hurt someone." She turned to face Link who was gazing up at her in that same stoic expression he always wore.

"Do you mistrust yourself so much?"

"Look at this place!" She waved an arm at the gilded candelabras inset in the walls. "So much luxury. So much waste. And then your princess offers me food, as if it is anything to her."

"Zelda means well," Link said, brushing his hand against her shoulder.

"Do not touch me again."

She left him standing there in the hallway like a stunned bokoblin. She had no idea where she was going, but she walked on anyway. If she did not expend her energy somehow, she was like to unleash it in a manner that not even that fool boy who thought himself a hero could forgive.

* * *

Only when the long day ended and Nabooru lay sleeping in the room next to his did Link feel safe enough to leave her to go see Zelda again. Despite the late hour, she admitted him to her chambers at once, still in her nightgown.

"Nabooru-" Zelda prompted.

"She will not kill anyone. Not on purpose, anyway."

"Will she heal?"

___Never_, he wanted to say. ___The blood of her entire race in on her hands. Such wounds cannot heal. Not even for you, princess._ But what he said was "She's frightened. She spoke of bokoblins."

"And you promised to fight them, didn't you."

Link waited.

"We are lucky to never have known them," Zelda said. "It is said that they are impossible to fight. Knights would wipe out one tribe, and three more would rise in its place. There was no single leader to unite them, no home to strike at."

"She said that Ganondorf kept them away."

"That may be so," Zelda admitted. "The last skirmish with them was when I was barely old enough to speak. Father always wondered where they had vanished to."

"I will ensure that they stay vanished," Link promised. Ganondorf seemed to have figured out a way to do it, after all.

"And the Sages will stand with you."

"An army might prove more useful, I think," Link said.

He saw a waver in her eyes, a flash of something that faded as soon as it had come. Before he could puzzle it out, she said "And you shall have one. But you will need more proof than her word before I can convince father."

"After the ceremony, then. Nabooru and I will ride out beyond the desert and find what proof there is." Even if the search proved fruitless, Nabooru needed something to do. He did not know how many incidents like the one with Tamara the princess's hospitality would tolerate. Fortunately the festival was only two days away, and Link already had some idea how to occupy them.

At the moment however, he could feel his eyelids pressing down like they were made of iron, and he desired nothing more than his warm bed. He politely concluded his business with the princess and stifled a yawn as he meandered down the hallways to his room. After the night in the Spirit Temple, he was certain to sleep well.

* * *

Nabooru's dreams were more troubled than usual. She stood in that impossible building whose pillars were columns of pure light that sliced through a perfect void. The Temple of Light, they called it, but to her it would always be the Temple of Fate.

The boy stood before her, his face stern as it always it was. The scratch that ran along his cheek was still bright red, and his face was crusted with sand and dried sweat. He stared at her, waiting.

"Ganondorf must not get the Triforce," she said at last. It was the only truth that remained to her.

"You will guide us through the Wasteland, then?"

"I will." Though her mind screamed with all its fury, she was forced to watch, helpless, as the words were torn from her mouth. They were two simple words, words that she had spoken a thousand times before, but now it was the most horrific utterance she knew. The very sound of it grated against her ears.

She heard, in those words, the death cries of her sisters whom she had lived and eaten and slept with. She heard the ferocious roar of her master, the Lord Ganondorf who had promised freedom from the desert's tyranny. She heard the emptiness of the Spirit Temple as the night winds blew over the fresh tomb.

Link's pitiful smile transformed into a snarl, and then his face erupted in bursts of ice and fire. Where once he stood, now the great Sorceress, Twinrova, raged. She spat out spells and curses, but none struck Nabooru. Though she deserved death, the arcane missiles exploded to either side of her, harmless. For the boy had promised her protection, and not even the mother of her people had the power to violate that.

The temple began to collapse. The floor crumbled beneath her, and the pillars of light faded into the void. When the circle on which she stood finally gave way, she fell, deeper and deeper into the abyss. Soon all substance was gone, and what remnants of light there were vanished soon after. There was only the fall.

Nabooru did not scream. If this was a traitor's fate, then so be it. She would fall forever, and if one day the fall ended and she splattered upon some strange ground, so much the better.

She shut her eyes and grimaced, but then the void faded and the gentle morning sunlight massaged her eyelids. She threw off her blanket, soaked through with sweat, and rose trembling to her feet.

Zelda would likely have something to say about her dream. She always had something to say, and little of it was worth hearing. Twinrova, perhaps, could have told her the truth, or an elder of her tribe, but she had killed them. The only one who might have any insight would be Link, and she did not need to go running to a little boy about her problems.

If she could not do anything about the dream, then it was not worth thinking about, she decided. Putting it from her mind, she began to dress herself. All she had to wear were the clothes she had worn yesterday - the same clothes she had been wearing ever since she turned traitor. They were threadbare and no doubt reeked of death, but they covered enough of her. That was all that clothing needed to do.

She could already hear the objections. "You can't be seen in that." "That is not proper for someone of your magnificence." "What will all the commonfolk think?"

Always it was the same. The Hylians played at humility, but still they strutted about in their fine robes and grand halls, acting like it actually meant something. Like they were better for their adornments. But when it had come time to actually win the war they were fighting, they had looked to her, dressed as a thief. She was a thief. The Gerudo could not have survived otherwise. Not that it had mattered, in the end.

If anyone else saw the folly of it, they were silent. She would have to be as well. She had followed Link here, and what honour remained to her demanded that she remain until he had kept his promise. Until the bokoblins were dead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

Link had never known Impa near as well as any of the other Sages, but there was one aspect of her that he could always count on: the Sheikah was near-impossible to find. He had first naively thought that being the princess's sworn protector she would mostly be somewhere near the princess. However, he rarely saw them together, and when he did it was only for a fleeting moment.

"She has guards," Impa had told him when he'd asked about it. "Not the brightest lot I've ever seen, but they'll save her from a sword or a bomb. I had hoped that you, at least, would have been intelligent enough to realize that there are other ways to protect someone."

Sometimes he found her brooding deep within the Shadow Temple or observing the goings-on of Kakariko Village from a high rooftop. Most of the time he did not find her at all, especially if his issue was actually important.

And so, while he was watching Nabooru spar with the Hylian knights and wondering where to start his search this time, it came as a complete surprise when she appeared beside him.

"Saria is late," she said, chasing all musings of Bokoblins from his mind. Her red eyes were as fierce as ever, though dark rings had begun to appear below them. She stood half again his height, rigid as the armor she wore. Her right hand was behind the small of her back, no doubt resting on the hilt of her short sword.

Link had completely forgotten about Saria. He had been so focused on Nabooru that he had not noticed her absence.

"Zelda says not to worry," Impa continued. "She is wrong. Saria is reliable."

He was certain that Impa was being paranoid as usual, but he pulled his ocarina from his hip pouch all the same. ___It will only take a minute to check up on her, and then Impa can relax_, he told himself. But there was something in the woman's tone that made him take her seriously, and he could not help but notice his chest constricting ever so slightly as he began to wonder why she had not yet arrived.

He brought the Ocarina of Time to his lips and played the lively forest dance that merged his heart with Saria's. The notes echoed far, turning the heads of the knights on the training field and the servants scurrying through across the grounds, but nothing happened. There was only a hard barrier where he should have felt her sweet presence.

He tried again, and he could feel the swirl of magic flowing from his instrument and seeping outward through space, but still the barrier repelled him.

By the time he lowered the ocarina, Impa was already humming the Minuet of the Forest that would transport her to the Forest Temple.

"I am coming as well," Nabooru said. Link had not even noticed her approach, and then she started singing just as the green light took Impa.

Link sighed. Despite the urge to follow the other Sages, he was stuck being the responsible one. He turned to a knight who was staring open-mouthed, his sword hanging limp in his hand.

"See that the princess learns we have gone to find the Sage of the Forest," he said.

"Ah… of course, uh… my-"

But by that time he was already sprinting away to the armory to collect his gear. All together, it took not even a quarter of an hour to follow his friends to the temple.

"Took you long enough," Impa muttered.

"Had to get supplies." He adjusted his sword on his back. He had left before he had had time to properly strap it on.

"You didn't bring bombs this time, I hope?"

"That was hardly my fault. It would have happened anyway. Now, shall we enter?"

The Forest Temple towered above them, casting a dark shadow that blotted out the bright afternoon sun. If Saria were anywhere, it was likely to be in there. It had been her retreat when things troubled her, and if she were not troubled she certainly would have answered his call. Link cautiously scaled the tree that was the only way to the door since the steps fell away. The old wooden door's creek sliced through the stillness as he pushed it open.

They crept through a hallway lit by dim ever-burning torches of magical fire that flickered with an eerie life of their own. Over their dampened footsteps, Link could hear the frantic scurry of creatures beyond the walls. Skulltullas and other species of spider most likely, judging by his past visits to the temple.

They emerged into a large central chamber, illuminated by sunlight that filtered in through the ancient windows of stained glass. Before they had taken three steps the door slammed behind them, hitting the frame so hard that Link could see it vibrate briefly when he turned around. Dust dislodged from the high walls and drifted to the ground. Link drew his sword, conditioned by past experience.

Impa and Nabooru already had their weapons drawn. Instinctively, the three turned their backs inward and began to scan the room, searching for the source of the disturbance.

"This is why I hate temples," Link began to say, but Impa shushed him.

"Listen," she said.

The ever-present rustling that permeated the temple had grown louder. It seemed to be coming from right above him. He looked upward-

-and immediately rolled forward. A burst of air behind him heralded the vicious descent of a skulltulla. Link turned to face the spider as its giant venomous fangs clanked off the floor. Its white body was larger than his, and he knew it to be near as hard as stone.

He looked around to find Nabooru and Impa, but he needn't have worried; they were well clear of the threat.

By that time, more skulltullas had started to fall, and innumerable of their smaller cousins scampered along the floor toward them. He lay about himself with his sword. When it struck the white carapaces of the the foot-sized skullwalltullas, it sent them whirling backwards through the air. Some screamed. Most bled. Yet for every spider he beat back, three more scrambled in to take its place.

They nipped and stabbed at his leather boots, and he knew the material would not stand long against the onslaught. There were so many that they began to stack on top of each other, and soon they would be above his boots and at his unprotected calves.

He would have to find something faster. He had powerful magic, but he had to be sure the others were out of the way.

Nabooru was hacking furiously, surrounded by piles of broken appendages and spider corpses. Impa, meanwhile, had managed to fight her way to a high ledge and was pelting the creatures with pebbles from a hip satchel, each stealing the life from a foe with perfect accuracy. She would be safe, but Nabooru was still three arms-lengths away.

He struggled to put more distance in between himself and her. The skullwalltulas crunched under his boots, spewing out blood and slime that made his footing even more treacherous. He fought to stay upright, stumbling over corpses and roots and severed legs.

Beside that, there were still the large skulltulas that loomed over him, suspended from their thin lines of silk. Were he his true height, he may have been able to drive his sword through their exposed eyes. As it was, he was forced to maneuver his way around, staying well clear of their flailing limbs.

By the time he made it to the steps on the other side of the room, there was a stinging pain in his leg where a skullwalltula had pierced it with a venomous fang.

He forced the wound from his mind as he brought all his focus to bear on the magical energy deep within him. He sheathed his sword; he would not need it. The vile monsters began to climb on him and drive their pincers further into his wounded legs, but it did not concern him. They would not pester him for long.

He recalled that moment atop Death Mountain where the Great Fairy had graced him with her touch. She had drawn him into a new world, apart from the realm of Hyrule. There was no Triforce, nor evil, nor any quest for him to pursue. Not even the Great Fairy was in that place. There was only ___magic_.

He had not felt it that pure since, but each time he dipped into that stream of change and will, he returned in part to that world. He was there now, even as the skullwalltulas scurried over him and nipped at his thick tunic. He let the fire of Din pour into him, consuming his very soul in its magnificent heat. He drank it in until blood was afire and sweat dripped in streams from his brow. He took it in, tempering and condensing until finally he could handle no more. He could feel it in his core, in his essence, wavering on the edge of stability.

And then, with a scream, he let it go.

The fire exploded outward, consuming everything in a wave of energy. His enemies shrieked by the hundreds as they burned. The fire spread, not just to other beasts, but to the vines and moss that grew on the temple walls.

Through the smoke, he could see Nabooru picking her way across charred corpses, a dark blotch on her boot where it had caught fire.

Then, a deep rumble came from the center of the room. It gave way to a shriek, piercing through the air like an arrow of ice. Before Link could figure out what it was, something wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the air.

It was a vine, thick as his leg, constricting tighter and tighter. More wrapped around his arms and his legs. He struggled, but the vines were too strong. He hung immobile, meters over the ground as they slowly forced his breath from him.

"How dare you!" screamed the same inhuman voice from before.

Link closed his eyes and summoned once more the fire of Din. As it burned away the plants that held him, he tumbled to the ground.

He landed with a hard roll that rattled his every bone. He did his best to brush off the pain and struggle to his feet before whatever was attacking him could regroup.

Link sprinted through the smoke to where he thought the source of the shriek was. He drew his sword, but stopped short when he finally saw the green-haired girl in the center of the room.

"Saria?"

When she turned to look at him, her mouth was set in a hard grimace, the corners of her lips quivering.

"You did this?" Her voice was little more than a tense whisper. Before he could respond, she strode up to him and slapped him. The unexpected blow sent him reeling backwards. Acting by instinct, he turned his fall into a backwards roll. By the time he looked up, she was looming over him.

"Put it out."

The walls were still covered in flaming moss. The lower portions were blackened with soot and ash, and the ornate wooden torches that held that four spirits of the temple had been charred into crude stumps.

Link drew an arrow. As he let it go, the tip transformed into a shard of ice. Where it struck the fire, it melted, trickling water all over the temple. He was silent as he shot again and again. By the time all the fires had died out, he was down to two arrows.

Only then did the vines holding Impa and Nabooru relax, dropping them to the ground.

"Why? Why?" Her soft voice broke as she uttered the words. Tears glistened in her eyes as she stared at him.

"You know I care for the forest." He reached for her shoulder, but she brushed his hand away. "There were skulltulas everywhere," he continued. "I had little choice."

She turned her back and said nothing for a time.

It was Nabooru who broke the silence. "What was that?" she demanded.

"Defense," Saria whispered. "It's coming."

"The bokoblins?" That was the only thing Link could think of, but Nabooru had said that they lived beyond the desert.

"I don't know." Saria grabbed his arm. "I don't know what it is, but I feel it. It's eating the forest."

"And you confused us with… this thing?" Impa said. She had already regained her stony facade. The only signs that she had just emerged from a fierce battle were the strands of white hair that had come loose from her bun and hung about her face.

"Tell us more," Link said. Impa's question was irrelevant. The battle was in the past and insignificant. Something was attacking his home.

"It started five days ago," Saria said. "It was subtle then, but I could ___feel_ it. When I went out to see what it was…"

Link placed his hand on her shoulder again. This time she let it stay.

"This is not something you can fight, Link. It was just… a darkness, a ___nothingness_ eating away at the edges of the Lost Woods."

"People keep saying there are things I cannot fight," Link replied. "Zelda says that it is bokoblins, Impa my fate, and you this darkness. They are all wrong.

"You can ___always_ fight."

"You mean to investigate, then?" Impa said.

"It does seem to be the greatest threat at the moment." He turned back to Saria. "Where is this darkness?"

"Go to the east and you will find it. It is all over now. I have done what I can from this temple, but-"

Link ___hushed_ her. "All we can ask from you is your best. I shall do mine, and together we will vanquish this threat as we have the others."

She hugged him then, and as her slender arms wound around him, Link was glad to have her as a friend. She had been the only one to fully accept him as a child, despite not having a fairy. When he returned, covered in sweat and blood and broken spider webs from the remains of the Great Deku Tree, she was the first to defend him from Mido's accusations of murder. Through Time and death and fire, the two would be friends forever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

The Lost Woods did not get its name just by being so uniform that it was impossible to navigate, or from the dense canopy of leaves and branches that blotted out the sun and took away the sense of direction from all but the most experience woodsman.

For it was not the body that was in danger, but the soul.

Link had often seen gaunt skeletons shambling through the woods. Their bodies had died and their skin decayed off, but the magic of the forest had kept their remains walking on and on forever.

He idly wondered why he had never gotten lost. That was the fate of all who entered who were not Kokiri. Everyone said so. No matter how little sense it made, he could roam the forest at will. As long as Nabooru stayed by his side, she ___shouldn't_ get lost either.

Impa had returned to the castle. Someone had to update Zelda, she had said, and keep an eye out for bokoblins as well. The princess would likely be at least annoyed by their absence for the festival, but if Saria was right, what was happening in the forest was far more important.

With the Sheikah gone, he was left alone with Nabooru. They walked mostly in silence, picking their way through dense groves of trees and bushes ripe with all manner of poisonous berries.

"I hate this forest," Nabooru said when they finally stopped. They had been walking all afternoon, and the dim light that made it through the trees was beginning to fade.

"You do not know it," Link replied, "as I do not know the desert."

"Everyone hates the desert," Nabooru muttered. Link smiled as he gathered herbs for a healing poultice. A skullwalltula did not have enough venom to kill a human, but more than one had bit him. Once again, his body was dotted by wounds, and every movement only served to exacerbate the pain.

"Why do you think we tried to fight you?" she continued. Link stopped plucking leaves from slender plant and turned to face her. She had never spoken about her life before the war, not even the first time around.

"I always thought it was about the Triforce," Link said.

Nabooru barked out a coarse laugh. She had some water from her canteen before replying.

"That was always Ganondorf's design. What would we want with some Hylian relic?"

___Umlimited power_ came to mind, but Link let her continue.

"You had lush pastures, a giant field gone to waste. Every luxury a woman could want. But every time we tried to use it, every time we left the desert you would hunt us down."

Link began crushing the leaves on a rock. The actions of past Hylian Knights was hardly his fault, but that did not matter. Let her rant.

"We wanted a place to sleep where we would not wake up coated in sand. We wanted a place to raise our daughters where they could live safely. Was that so wrong?"

The poultice stung more than the wounds themselves. It always did. He had to pull off his tunic to get at the bites on his lower abdomen. He dropped the stinking fabric by his feet and rubbed on the sticky fluid.

"I know what it is to desire a home," he told her. "Spent half my life looking. Never thought it would be in the Lost Woods."

"The desert is no home," Nabooru said. "Every day is a scramble for life. Every night is a victory."

"Wouldn't know anything about that."

Her scowl broke, and the two shared a laugh.

They had a quick lunch of what nuts and berries they could forage, and then they were on their way again.

* * *

By early evening he started to see it. The signs were subtle, but they were there. The trees' bark was grayer than it should have been, and the branches sparser. A carpet of dull-green leaves lay strewn across the ground, muffling their footsteps.

But he felt it more than anything. Though summer reigned fiercely throughout the rest of Hyrule, he felt a chill that went deeper than just his skin.

Nabooru held her blade ready, and her eyes darted everywhere. Link yearned to feel his sword's comforting weight in his hand, but he kept it sheathed. There would be nothing to cut at.

It was much more pronounced after three more kilometers. The trees in front of him all began to fade into a monotonous darkness that was darker than the Shadow Temple despite it being afternoon.

Link cursed himself for running off without an oil lamp or other light source, but he doubted that it would matter. After all, not even the sun pierced through the unnatural darkness.

There was but one light, flickering weakly on the ground ahead of him. Motioning Nabooru to stay back, he approached. As he ventured further into the anomaly, he could feel it pulling on him, stretching his skin. He grit his teeth and continued.

As he neared the golden light, he began to see the two feathery wings that protruded from it. His stomach jumped into his throat as he bent down to the injured fairy.

"Tatl?"

Her light was dimmer than it was supposed to be, and her torn wings beat more slowly, but the fairy's identity was unmistakable.

"Found you." Her once-shrill voice was thin and strained. Each word sounded a fierce victory against the wolves of death that hounded her. Link cupped his friend in his hands and brought her to his ear so he could hear better.

"Mask alive. Termina… gone. Like this."

He almost dropped her. What she said could not be. On the grimacing moon, he had sundered the mask with the almighty sword of the Fierce Deity. He had watched it tremble and seen its shards dissolve into nothingness when it exploded. The taint had left the masks of the giants, and the land had healed.

And yet, a strange darkness was consuming the Lost Woods, and the spirited fairy lay dying in his hands.

"Link, save-" she said, and then she was gone.

It took all his will to keep his hands steady as he placed her remains in a bottle. He could not bury her in that place of evil. She deserved better.

"I failed."

He could still see Jim and his Bombers scurrying throughout Clock Town in its final hours, bringing comfort to the remaining citizens. He had promised them that he would save the city. He had promised Mayor Dotour as well, and the postman, and the banker, over and over and over again as he cycled through Time.

"I failed."

"___Please take refuge. We are fine here,_" Kafei had said as the moon drew so close that Link could throw a rock at it. The man-turned-boy had an unwavering purpose in his eyes that Link had never seen before. "___We shall greet the morning together._"

Those were the last words he'd heard before he went to face the dark mask. He had thought love a myth, a tale for young girls to tell themselves to make the world seem less fearsome. He had not believed it possible to care truly about any one person. Then he saw the pure young innkeeper waiting for her fiance as their doom drew nearer, and he saw them lost in their embrace as the grip of the planet somehow weakened and the aged portraits that were shaken from the walls fell so slowly, and he recognized it for something purer than he had ever known. For them and their joy, more than anything, he vowed to stop the end of that world and give them a morning to greet.

And now they were dead with the rest.

"I failed."

Grog would never see his cuccos mature. Romani and Cremia would never share another brilliant sunrise. So many dreams shattered. So much time wasted. All because he could not kill a stupid mask.

"Link-"

He sprung to his feet and with a single stroke drew his sword and clove a branch in two. He continued the dance, driving his sword through tree and brush and anything else that he could strike.

A fierce rage was upon him, and he let it consume him. He cut and spun and cursed, heedless of the flying debris or whatever words Nabooru was screaming. Vision left him, and hearing too. There was only the stench of his failure and the hole it left in his stomach.

* * *

The next thing he knew, Nabooru was astride him, punching his face. His face stung from the blows, and he knew he had to stop it somehow. He caught her fist and sat up. He did not know how long his rampage lasted, nor how he had managed to avoid unleashing Din's fire or something far worse.

Nabooru sent him back to the ground with a hard shove.

"Are you a hero, or are you a little boy? You have a job to do."

Link couldn't help but laugh at the irony of her statement. Nabooru punched him again.

"Do not break. The Hero of Time does not break." Except he had. He had gone and thrown a childish tantrum - yet another failure to add to the ever-growing pile.

He fought to push the crushing weight from his mind. The blood trickling from his nose was not helping matters. Nevertheless, he had a quest. When he opened his eyes and peered into the thick darkness that surrounded, thought began to return with brutal clarity.

"Stay your fists," Link said. "I am sane as you are. I know my duty."

She cocked her head to the side as she peered down at him. "And you will still fight?"

"If you ever get off of me."

She dismounted, and he climbed to his feet.

"I do not know what I did wrong, but I will not make the same mistake again," Link said. His mind was swarming despite his cool words, trying to see what he could have done better. Should he have tried to seal it away as he had with Ganondorf? Maybe his light arrows would have had a greater effect upon the mask.

"Return to the temple. I will investigate further and meet you there."

Nabooru crossed her arms. "You are not sending me away so easily. You should not be alone. I know."

Link smiled. She ___would_ know, more than anyone. But now was not the time to worry about his health, not with so much at stake.

"We don't have time for this. I need to figure out what's going on here, and I can't have you getting in my way."

"It would be you getting in my way," Nabooru protested. "I fight better than you. I am stronger. You are covered in spider bites. You need rest and healing and your sweet princess's kisses."

"And when the darkness advances farther? Where will you go then? You do not know these woods, Nabooru. You will become lost in them, and those who are lost become monsters."

"The Haunted Wastelands-"

"Are not the Lost Woods."

They stared at each other, neither so much as blinking. When she had insisted on holding the grand hallway of the Spirit Temple herself, he had loved her for her stubbornness. Now, he cursed it. She was like to get herself killed out of concern for him if he could not make her see reason.

"I know these woods," he said, "and Saria fights beside me from her temple. I am as safe here as I would be anywhere else in Hyrule."

Finally she relented.

"Foolish boy," she said. "If you lose that cute head of yours, I shall never forgive you," she said, ruffling his hair beneath his cap.

"What I do with my head is my own business," he replied, forcing a smile. The one she returned was just as fake.

"Before you go," Link cut in as she started to sing. She looked at him, and he paused, struggling with the words. "There's no need to tell anyone about… you know." He felt a flush creeping up his cheeks as his words trailed off.

Nabooru laughed, flashing two rows of pure white teeth that stood in stark contrast to the decay around them.

"Don't worry. No one will hear of your little tantrum."

When she was gone, he glanced around. Whatever had spread to Hyrule had progressed during his rampage. The trees around him were as shadows. When he reached out to touch one, the bark crumbled. He could barely see half a meter in front of him.

Link drew his sword and went deeper into the forest and into the darkness. Each step weighed him down more, but he kept his sword high and ready.

"I killed you once," he called to whatever would hear him. "I will do it again. Powerful magic flows through this land. You will find no easy prey here."

He heard nothing, not even the chirp of crickets that ever filled the woods. There was a cold sweat on his brow, but he took another step forward.

It was so empty. He was standing not on ground, but a black surface that happened to be solid. Whatever light there was came from behind him, and so distant as to be useless. Soon he would succumb to it as well. Already he could feel his body fading.

"I defy you," he screamed. "By the goddesses, and the Triforce, and the seven Sages, you shall not take this land."

Finally he heard a response. The entire forest seemed to exude a deep rumbling sound akin to a humorless chuckle. And then the last of the light was swallowed up.

Link was not sure if he would be able to find his way back out, but that did not matter. He raised his ocarina to his lips and played the Minuet of the Forest. When the green light appeared, he cracked a wide smile. The darkness could be broken. This proved it. The light of music, at the least, was stronger. The light got brighter until it was all around him and his world was nothing but a green flare. Then he was back in front of the Forest Temple, rolling on the ground and laughing with the joy of life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

When Link had returned to Kokiri Village after his very first adventure in the Great Deku Tree, he had been greeted as a murderer. Mido was the one to spread the word, stumbling back ashen-faced as Link had come from the meadow. Few were bold enough to accuse him as openly as the bully, but he could see the suspicion there in all but the closest of his friends.

On his second return, he had been a stranger. He had sought recognition in the Know-It-All Brothers, whose eyes were always so keen, from Rela and Tesol who had often enlisted his help in pulling weeds or lifting rocks, and even in Mido with whom he had so often quarreled. But they saw only an adult who had no place among their childlike race. Saria alone had recognized him after his seven-year slumber. He did not think he could have borne it, had she not.

On this, his third return, he was a hero. With surprisingly little trouble, he had gotten all of the Kokiri to leave their homes and follow him into the Lost Woods. Ever alert for danger, he led them through the enchanted forest toward the Forest Temple - their best hope for safety.

Surprisingly, it had been Mido who was most helpful in gaining their trust. Link had first gone to the Deku Tree's meadow where, as he had supposed, the Deku Tree Sprout grew in the shadow of his father. With Ganondorf's taint removed from Hyrule, the young tree had sprouted years earlier than it had the first time. When the Kokiri's guardian had explained the predicament to his children, Mido had roused those who had been hesitant to leave their homes with logic, threats, and promises. Now the boy strode through the forest beside him, pointing out all the details that Link was well aware of. Though he suspected it was merely another ploy to gain Saria's favor, Link was not about to question the good fortune of the boy's cooperation.

"You know the forest really good, Mr. Hero," he said. "You could be a Kokiri yourself if you weren't so old. You even got the clothes for it."

Link returned his banter, but his mind was elsewhere. He would not have seen it had he not been looking, but even here the forest had begun to decay into that nothingness he had unleashed upon Hyrule.

"-can't leave the forest, of course," Mido was saying. "One guy did though. Saria says he's still alive, but he can't be. He left."

"You speak highly of this Saria," Link prompted. An idea was beginning to take shape. It was completely unfounded, but…

"Yeah, she's almost as smart as I am. She never hangs out with us anymore though. Always at the temple, but she never says why."

"Well, soon we'll all be at the temple." Majora's Mask had taken a Skull Kid for a host and consumed it. It had drawn others to it as well: the fairies, the moon children, and who knew what else. It was a fool's hope, but it was possible that the darkness of the mask spread from one living host to another. It was possible that all he needed to do was disrupt the chain of life and the blight would cease. It was the only way he could think of to fight back.

"The temple's a weird place, mister. It's bigger than the Deku Tree, and it didn't even grow that way. Saria says that people ___built_ it, like a slingshot or shield or something. Saria doesn't know who did though. I bet it was giants. How else could they get it that high?"

"I have seen much in the lands beyond the forest, but I have never seen any giants." ___Not in Hyrule, at least._ He would have to make his move soon. Already he could see a tree that was more gray than living brown, and in perhaps an hour it would be black. He raised a fist in the signal he had taught the Kokiri to mean ___halt_. Whether it was from the signal or from them seeing him stop he could not say, but for whatever reason, they halted.

"Do you know the way to the temple?" he asked Mido.

The boy nodded.

"Take them the rest of the way. Our foe is closer than I feared, and I must do what I can to hold it back."

"But what about-"

"Go!" He shoved him hard in the direction of safety. To his credit, the panic the boy must have felt did not show as he herded the others deeper into the forest.

Link waited until they were out of sight, then turned to face the shadow. Saria would not forgive him for this, but she would live. By whatever strength he possessed, she would live.

He retreated deep within himself and unleashed Din's fire upon the forest. He sprinted through the trees, paying only enough attention to avoid tripping over the thick roots that criss-crossed the ground. Again and again, he stopped to release an expanding shell of flame that spread quickly through the trees that were dry from the summer drought.

He had to destroy every hint of life that lay between him and the enemy. He had to stop it, or the Kokiri would go the way of the Gerudo. They could not leave the forest, after all, and it grew smaller with every passing minute. He sprinted and burned until he had no magic left. There was only a consuming emptiness where his heart had once been. He collapsed to his knees and sucked in air. His lungs burned and sweat stung his eyes, but he could not remain there for long. Around him, the forest burned.

He rose and picked up a slow jog, looking for any sign to tell him where he was, but there was only fire. Everywhere he turned, it raged and flickered and taunted him. Even so, it did not burn fast enough. There may still be enough life in the inferno for the darkness to pass through. But his magic was spent. There was nothing he could do but to run and to hope.

Had he his Goron tunic, he could have walked through the heart of the blaze and felt only a gentle warmth radiating from it. He had not yet gotten it though, so he was forced to flee, dodging flaming branches that broke from their trees along the way.

At last, he outran the beast that he had created. Only when he was free of it, and the forest burned well behind him, did he look at his ocarina. By some latent magic, it was unsinged, unwarmed even. He raised it to his lips and played the song that would transport him to the girl he had betrayed.

Her eyes were as intense as the hell that was eating her home, but Link did not give her time to speak.

"Have the Kokiri arrived?" he asked before he had even fully materialized before the temple. Saria stood with her fists clenched at her side, right in front of the sigil where he appeared.

Her jaw slackened as she shook her head, and then Link was darting back into the forest. He half expected her to call after him or try to pursue him. That she did not was testament to the hurt he had done her. He put the thought from his mind. That was not what was important. Somewhere in the Lost Woods there was a caravan of vulnerable children.

He found them less than a kilometer away, frightened but unharmed. Some bore tear stains on their cheeks, but they trudged onward with the others. Most would be hungry and footsore, he knew, but there was no time to rest.

"The temple is just ahead," he told them. "You've all been very brave, and soon you'll be safe." He was not so certain as he sounded. He had never had much hope for his fire plan, and he doubted that the temple would provide much protection. It was his best hope, however. There, unknown magics swirled, still alive after countless centuries. If anything could stop this darkness, it would be found in those ancient walls.

The forest soon gave way to the sacred meadow that housed the temple. At the sight of their destination, the Kokiri broke into an eager run. Link walked along behind them. By the time he arrived, Saria and Nabooru were helping them scamper up the mossy tree that led to the entrance. The stairs that led to the high door had been broken as long as anyone could remember.

Though she was friendly as she always was to the Kokiri, the look Saria shot him said that the two of them would be having a long and heated conversation before too long. It was nothing he had not expected. But so long as the children were safe inside, he could rest a little bit easier. Now there was nothing he could do but wait and plan.

* * *

There was a garden within the Forest Temple, unkempt and wild, but with a special beauty all its own. A stream trickled through it, making the surrounding grass a luscious green.

Saria had shown it to Nabooru shortly after she appeared outside the temple. Now, she rested there, savoring the feeling of the fresh life beneath her.

The sound of a wooden door unlatching snapped her from her reverie. She sat up in time to see Link guiding the door shut behind him.

"I've always wanted to go barefoot here," he said, making his way toward her. His gait was stunted, almost a stagger, but he wore a gentle smile as if there was nothing in the world that could bother him.

"Tell me of this mask." Nabooru lay back down. They had little time to waste on fanciful wishes, but that did not mean their discussion had to take place in discomfort. With a gentle _thud_, Link plopped down next to her, leaning back on his hands.

"After the war, I went deep into the Lost Woods and found a place called Termina."

"Not what I asked."

Link chuckled, but stopped when Nabooru scowled at him. Seeing him like this, a boy sitting relaxing in a garden with not even a hint of worry, it was hard to remember that this was the legendary Hero of Time.

"It is a powerful mask that seems to possess the wearer," he said. "It has the power to bring down the moon."

Nabooru glanced up at him. "You mean the round glowing thing that comes at night?" The pale spirit was a part of the tapestry of the heavens; it was not something that one simply _brought down_.

"The same. Stay focused." He was right. Their foe was powerful. Such questions as hers were wasteful.

"How did you defeat it?"

"I stabbed it."

"An all powerful mask that can bring down the moon?"

Link shrugged. "I stabbed it a lot."

Nabooru lay in silence for a time as she tried to think. She was not wholly ignorant of the ways of magic, being both a Sage and a Gerudo princess. But such tricks as she knew could not compare to the curse that she had seen in the forest, the curse that could seemingly mar the very heavens.

Link had, at some point, lain down himself, and now the fingers of his left hand drummed idly against the ground, disturbing her thoughts. She clenched her hand upon his, keeping his fingers still.

"You destroyed its form. What was inside is now loose," Nabooru said.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to touch you."

She squeezed his hand until he yelled out in pain. When she let go, he held it to his chest and looked over at her. She had no sympathy.

"Stay focused. What can we do against something with no form?"

"I don't know. Give it a form and kill that, perhaps. Or do what we did with Ganon."

"You cannot just seal away all your problems."

He stood, grimacing. Nabooru watched as he began to pace back and forth, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"Navi would know what to do," he said at last.

"Who?"

"It matters not. I will face it, and we shall see who wins."

At that moment, Saria came through the door. Her face was blank, controlled.

Link glanced at her, then turned back to Nabooru.

"Go back to the castle. Find Zelda. Find Impa. They ought to have a plan."

Nabooru rose to her feet. She hated leaving him. It was almost as bad as retreat. But the boy was right; he needed the help of those wiser than him, and he was far too stubborn to simply abandon his home.

"I will return, and we will fight it together," she said. Link nodded. Then she left. She glanced at Saria as she passed through the door, but the child's eyes were locked ahead of her.

* * *

Link stood before his friend. He had to set things right with her before the end. For the end was indeed coming, and he knew not how to halt it.

"Do you remember when you left?" Her anger had passed, and all that remained was a distant sorrow that tinged every word she spoke. "I gave you an ocarina."

"It is safe at the castle," Link said. Saria turned away, choosing instead to gaze down at the moss-covered well.

"You promised we would be friends forever. You promised to remember your home."

"Saria, look at me." Slowly, her head rose. He reached for a hand; she pulled back, but she kept her wide green eyes fixed upon his. The corners of them glistened with tears.

"I love this forest as much as you. I saw a chance to stop what is eating it. I took it."

"You failed."

"Then this darkness will take what was burned anyway."

"It's not about that." Her voice broke, and she lowered her gaze, but she had the courage to look at him again before she continued. "Link, you've changed. This is the second time you have brought fire to this place. Where is the boy who came to me in tears because he slew a lizalfos?"

_His quest has forced him into manhood_.

"He lives still," he told her, "and perhaps one day when peace returns you will meet him again."

"Then you have forgotten."

_Never,_ he thought. He closed his eyes to collect his thoughts, looking for the words to let her understand.

"The first person I ever killed was been a powerful sorceress," he began. "She wielded her power with an ease that rivaled even Ganondorf. The victory was sweet. She threw attacked me with all her power, but she failed. I emerged from her room battered and with half my clothing burned off, but very much alive.

"I did not feel it until the next day. I was staring out over Lake Hylia, mustering the courage to face... the next opponent. And there, I almost ran away. I realized what I had done, and thought of doing it again was the most terrifying thing I had faced.

"But that was long ago. In the halls of the Spirit Temple, I cut down countless Gerudo, and I just slept as well that night as when I first returned to the forest."

"Are you telling me that me that I should just forget what you've done?"

"I am telling you that I will defend this temple – no matter the cost."

Saria bowed her head and left him standing alone in the garden.


	6. Chapter 6

When Nabooru appeared with the other Sages on the sigil before the Forest Temple, Saria was standing atop the broken steps.

"He has gone, hasn't he?" Zelda said. Her voice was drawn and low. Nabooru wondered how long it had been since she last slept. Saria nodded.

"Did he say what his plan was?" Impa said. She sprung up onto the ledge to join Saria. Nabooru and Zelda followed, scrambling up the tree, but Darunia and Rauru remained grounded.

"He said you would ask that," Saria said. "He said to tell you that you may wish to plug your ears this time."

"Damn him," Impa muttered.

Nabooru furrowed her brow. "I do not understand."

"Our young hero has a proclivity for... _explosive_ solutions," the Sheikah replied. "I'm surprised you hadn't noticed by now."

Nabooru let her gaze linger on the darkened forest from which billows of smoke rose not two hours prior.

"He does not have any bombs," Nabooru said. "I was with him for two days. I would have seen them"

Zelda smiled at this. "Lack of material has never stopped him before."

If he had a plan, and it did not include her, rushing to his side was unlikely to aid him. But staying at the temple and doing nothing would be worse than forcing the darkness herself. She gnawed at her lip and prayed that whatever Link was thinking of would work.

* * *

Link stood at the border between life and death.

Of all the places in Hyrule, the Lost Woods had always been the most special. Even as he had dreamed of far-off adventures as a child, he had known that the magical forest would remain precious to him. Now only a sliver remained.

The village he had grown up in would have been consumed by now, he knew, and the Deku Tree Sprout as well. There was a magic in that tree far greater than his own.

But Link did not fight alone. Six of the seven medallions that hung about his neck shone through his tunic in a rainbow of colour. They warmed his chest and roused his spirit. The Sages, fools that they were, had come to stand beside him. He had only meant to send Nabooru away so that she would not die along with him. Now she had doomed them all.

He was glad, in a way, though he knew it was selfish. He would leave the world with what he always desired –true friends at his side. He just hoped that they would be smart enough to stay out of his way, and to retreat and find a better plan should he fail.

Failure was unlikely, however. He had more than just the strength of the Sages. His hand gripped a mask that seemed to radiate power. It coursed up his arm, filling him with a vivacity he had known only a handful of times before.

Steeling himself, he donned the Fierce Deity's Mask and stepped into the darkness.

* * *

The Fierce Deity roared out his warcry. He knew not what had awakened him or where he stood. He knew only that his brother was here, surrounding him, tearing at his soul.

It was much as it had been the time before, and the time before that, and the time before that. They were locked in an endless battle for the soul of the world.

But now Majora was free. Some fool had loosed him from the prison that he had worked so hard to build. The creatures dark mandibles tore at his body, seeking whatever entrance they could. With a searing flash of light, he cast them off, only for them to regroup and strike again.

The deity grimaced. He had somehow ended up in the worst possible position—in the heart of his brother's power. No matter. He would defeat him anyway. He thrashed about with his sword, the double-helix of love intertwined with will. Where he struck, the dark retreated, but only for a short time.

He would have to find a way to escape, to find a better vantage point. But then he heard a voice. It was foreign, but it seemed to come from within him.

_Use the mask_.

He did not know why he listened to it. Perhaps it was because of the simple earnestness of it, or maybe because it sounded as he had once. For whatever reason, he reached into the satchel he found at his side and pulled out a small black mask, decorated only with a white skull. And then he laughed.

* * *

The forest was illuminated with flashes of light so great that when they subsided, Nabooru was still blinded from the intensity. Still the Gerudo kept her eyes open, forcing herself to watch what she could of the confrontation. Who knew that he had such power in him? Why had he not used it before?

_You have not yet seen my full strength, Nabooru, and I pray you never have to, _he had said. Was that what they were seeing now? Nabooru could scarce believe what was happening.

"I must learn this power," Impa breathed behind her. To her side, Saria gasped and wrung her hands before her.

"Have faith," Zelda said. "He has accomplished far more than you know." But even the princess's voice was unsteady.

"One day he must tell us of these things," Nabooru said.

At that moment all the darkness that cut into the forest seemed to spiral into a single point. Where once the land was covered in shadow, the sunlight shown again, and the trees were every bit as green as they had been when Nabooru first came to the forest. There was only the single spot, where the shadow roared and coalesced.

A great explosion tore through the air with a mighty _crack_. Saria and Zelda retreated under the cover of the arch above the temple's doorway, but Nabooru and Impa remained as they were, staring out into the newly-born forest.

Then Nabooru scrambled to the ground and ran into the forest. The pounding footsteps of Darunia followed after her. She pushed forward to the spot where the darkness had coalesced, to the source of the explosion.

It was perhaps three kilometers into the forest. She leaned over, panting, as she stared into the large crater. Around it, the trees had been stripped bare, and many of the closer once were uprooted entirely.

There was no body.

Nabooru sank to her knees. She saw the other Sages approaching the blast hole, but none of them spoke. Impa rested a calloused hand on the young princess's shoulder, Saria squeezed Darunia's mighty arm, and Nabooru just stared at the crater.

* * *

They held the funeral at the temple, just them and the Kokiri. Link would have wanted it that way. He was never one for fancy affairs.

Speeches were made, stories were shared, and with a blaze of light they saw their hero out of the world. Nabooru stood aloof, watching the others commiserate among themselves. She was alone once more. Perhaps she would return to the Colossus and there await the onslaught of the full bokoblin force.

Then the child sat down beside her.

"He spoke highly of you," she told her.

"I do not need your sympathy, little girl."

She rose to leave, but then Zelda was standing there.

"He told us of the bokoblins. We shall not let them defile your desert."

"We're Sages," Saria put in. "That means we help each other. You're with us now."

"It is not an easy fight," Nabooru warned.

Now the other Sages had gathered.

"We have done hard things before, brother," Darunia said.

"There is more than one man in Hyrule who knows how to fight," added Rauru.

"But that is a battle for another day." Impa extended her hand to Nabooru. "Come. Let us mourn the life we lost, and celebrate the lives he gave."

Nabooru took the Sheikah's hand and allowed herself to be pulled toward the shrine.

* * *

Link stirred. The Blast Mask had left a deep gouge in the forest, but at least the forest was still there. He knew the mask would make itself useful one day. He was glad that he had never told anyone about it; Impa would surely have made him destroy it.

There was a creature made of a brilliant light before him. It was similar in appearance to a monkey, but it was as tall as any tree in the forest.

"You have done well, O Hero," the being intoned. "Come now, and rest." The monkey-creature extended and shining hand, but Link held his ground.

"I cannot rest. Not while evil still threatens Hyrule."

"There will always be evil in this world, child."

"Then I shall never rest."

The hand withdrew, and for a moment the light dimmed. Then the creature spoke again.

"I cannot force you to move on, Hero, but neither may you walk about the mortal realm. Your friends will not see you. There is no way for you to fight, nothing you can do to influence the turnings of the world."

Link grinned.

"I very much doubt that. 'Nothing,' is a very big word, after all, and I have found that I can always fight."

"When you tire of fooling yourself, my sisters and I will always welcome you." The voice sounded somehow forlorn and disappointed.

"Give the Goddesses my regards," Link said. He then turned and left her. He did not know where he would go, but he knew that somewhere he would find some way to interact with the world he had left behind. Though it take a thousand years, the shade of the hero would not rest until he was certain that his home was safe.


End file.
